Chapter One

“I am stretched on your grave
And will lie there forever
If your hands were in mine
I’d be sure we’d not sever
My apple tree my brightness
It’s time we were together
For I smell of the earth
And am worn by the weather...”
Sinead O’Connor

Chapter 1 The things that come back to haunt us...
The winter had been especially cruel this year. Since Christmas, we’ve had over 33 inches of snow. There has been no chance of some melting relief with the temperatures being constantly in the twenties or below. We all felt the chill; it was in our bones, freezing our blood, our minds and our emotions. Some found comfort in the arms of a lover in front of a fireplace; others found solace in the warmth of alcohol, while others, myself included, found it easier to just freeze with the winter.
A ten-year-old girl was reported missing Monday morning, January 15h, at 9:37 a.m. The school called the missing girl’s mother at approximately 8:00 a.m. to find out why she hadn’t arrived. It is not uncommon to have a child sick during the cold winter, however, it was uncommon that Mrs. White hadn’t called to let the school know that she was keeping Kylie home for the day. The story turned suspicious when Kylie’s mother claimed that she had dropped her daughter off at the side entrance of the school at approximately 7:24 a.m., six minutes before the bell would ring and signal the start of school. Her teacher claimed that the child wasn’t in her seat, nor had anyone seen her before the start of class. The girl was easily missed; blonde hair, blue eyes, blood red lips and snow white skin- a child like this would be common in any other school, but here, out of only 37 grade school and high school aged children taught together in the two room school house, she was the only one who fit that description. Everyone in the town would eventually hear of her disappearance, but they printed it in the local paper anyway.
Kylie also stood out in the town of 354 people. Everyone knew each other’s name. It felt like a large extended family. On summer holidays, everyone gathered in the park. On the Fourth of July the children would put on a play before a display of bright and exciting fireworks. The Christmas pageant is basically the same every year with songs and dances. A large tree would be placed in the town center and if it wasn’t too cold, everyone would stand outside to watch the lighting. No one disputed the religious aspect in a public place; there was only one place to worship in a 30-mile radius, and most of the townspeople went there. This last Christmas, however, one person was missing from the festivities. Will Brown disappeared three days before Christmas, most likely during the snowstorm. Some think that his car will appear after the snow melts in the spring. I was hoping we would find him before that, but as each day passed it was more and more unlikely that we would find him alive.
Will wasn’t anything extraordinary but he was a part of the town. He ran the hardware store off of Hwy. 51 and Main Street. He had a small Coast-to-Coast Store; barely had any stock, but it had enough for what folks needed around here, and not much more. His wife reported him missing Wednesday, December 21st at 9:24 p.m. Will closes the store habitually at 7 p.m. and when he hadn’t shown for dinner, Mrs. Brown became worried. They didn’t live far out of town, but if the road to their house became snowy or wet, the curve over the hill just before their turn off could become very treacherous. Burt at the County Shed made sure that this road in particular was the first and last road to be plowed in snowy weather. We’ve lost lives there before. But I had a feeling that Will wasn’t there. For some reason, I didn’t think Will made the attempt for home that night. I didn’t think he was alive either.
Christmas came and went. New Years came whether I wanted it to or not. It was off of vacation and back to work in a town where hardly anything ever happens. Then the call came through to the dispatcher that Mrs. White couldn’t find little Kylie.
“Molly? You out there?” Her voice was mixed with static on the radio.
“Yeah, Colleen, go ahead.”
“Could go around to the school house? Charlotte needs you to look into something.”
“Did she say what was wrong?”
“It’s one of the kids; Kylie White. Charlotte said that she never made it class, but Betsy said she dropped her off a little late, but she made it there.”
“Did Charlotte say if Betsy was drinking?”
“Ah-I don’t think we should discuss that over the C.B.”
I blushed a little with embarrassment. “Ok. I’m right around the corner.” I hung up the C.B. and I pulled into the playground. David Johnson met me at the door. He had been the school’s principal for almost fourteen years. He and his wife Shelby, the school secretary, started working here the year I was trying to leave. My senior year in what they called a high school was the worst year of my life. It didn’t matter if I was seventeen; they treated everybody as though they were seven. Now that I’m sheriff of this sleepy little town, I’m no longer considered a kid. I’m a peer. Can’t say how warm and fuzzy that makes me feel.
“Hi Dave. What’s going on?”
“Kylie White is missing.”
“I heard. What makes you think she didn’t just take the day off?”
“She’s ten years old. Where would she go?”
I can’t answer that on grounds that it would incriminate every kid in the town and every adult under the age of thirty-five.
“Has she ever skipped school before?”
“No, never. Betsy swears that she dropped her off, right here at 7:24 a.m.”
“She knows the exact time?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No, just Charlotte, and it was over the phone, not in person.”
“Is Charlotte free yet?”
“In about twenty minutes. Recess is at quarter after.”
“Any way I can talk to her sooner?”
“I don’t want to alarm the kids.”
“It might help...”
“ It’s twenty minutes, Molly.”
I rolled my eyes away from him and gave a huff. Bullshit, I thought. This place is so slow moving. Why the hell did I ever come back? “Dave, could you do me a favor and keep the kids inside today?”
“Sure, Molly. No problem.”
He turned to enter the school to make the arrangements. I called the office for some backup. “Colleen? Is Tam there?”
“Yes, he’s here. You need him?”
“Please. Colleen, could also call Tom over at County? We’re going to need some forensics here.”
“Did you find something?”
“Yes, I’m afraid I did.”
“Do you want Kelly too?”
“No, tell him to stay at the office. I’ll need him free to cover us. We might be here for a while.”
“He’ll be mad.”
“That’s just too bad. I need him to cover the town. There are only three of us...”
“Molly? There’s another call coming in. Hang on-”
I looked over the edge of the hill that began at the end of the playground. My eye immediately spied a small pink shoe laying helpless in the snow about ten feet from where I stood. A bottomless pit appeared where my stomach used to be. I’ve seen my share of homicides while I was on the police force in South Chicago. When I moved back here, I hoped, no prayed, that I would never have to see another one. Five years and all was well. Until today...
“Molly?” Colleen called over my radio.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Tam's on his way. Tom is already in the area and will be there in about 15 minutes.”
“Thanks Colleen. Tell Kelly I’ll call him in an hour to check in.”
“No need. He’s headed down there with Tam.”
“What? I said I needed him there!”
“He said not to worry; he’s not staying. He’ll drop Tam off and bring the squad back. Tam's truck is still at Bob’s.”
“Ok. I’ll talk to you later.” They’re here already. The one nice thing about being in town was that no matter where you needed to go, it only took you less than five minutes to get there. The school was on one of the hills in town, the church and cemetery was on the other. To the south was the Highway that led into Brent, another small town about twenty miles away. I could see most of the town from the playground- to the north was Will’s Coast to Coast store, the General Store next to that and my apartment above the General Store. I could also see the Police Headquarters’ back parking lot, Jill McCreeny’s house, and the roofs of several other buildings. The bad thing about living in such a small town was that everyone knew what everyone else was doing. The good thing about living in such a small town is that everyone knew what everybody else was doing and I prayed that someone knew something about all of this. I wrote in my notebook a reminder to talk to Jill and find out if she had seen anything up here this morning.
I walked over to Tam as he stepped out of the car. Kelly didn’t look too pleased with me, but I told him that he would be watching the town. His face lightened up a bit. He gave a wave and headed back to the station. I had Tam immediately rope off the area. We took a closer look at where the shoe lay, and found something else that I wasn’t expecting- two sets of footprints. I had a small twinge of hope.
Tom Weatherfield arrived just after Tam. He told that us that his forensic team has been alerted and will arrive in a half an hour. We gathered around the vehicles and tried to speak in low voices. I saw out of the corner of my eye that some of the students had opened some windows. Rumors spread like wildfires around here. Even though they didn’t know what we were talking about, the police gathered on their playground was still something worth talking about.
“Tom, it’s good to see you.”
“What kind of trouble are you in?”
“Big trouble. There was a young girl reported missing this morning.” I looked back to the shoe. Tom followed my gaze. I think he could tell what I was thinking.
“Let’s take a look,” he said.
We walked over to the edge and peered down. I pointed to where the shoe was found. He nodded. But then he grunted.
“Huh.”
“What?”
“Down there, past those small trees...see that?”
I squinted and starred until an unusual reddish lump came into focus. “What is that?” I asked rhetorically.
“It looks like someone sitting in the snow,” replied Tom. I looked to my right and caught Tam’s gaze. I felt sick. Tom and Tam made their way down the slippery hill to the figure. They reach it at the same time, looked at it and as Tom studied it, Tam stood straight up and gave me very grim look. I knew instantly that it was Will.
I was thankful that there were no windows on this side of the building. 10:25 approached and Charlotte came out of the building. I motioned to Tam to come up and join me while Tom examined the body; Will’s body. Tam stretched an arm out to me as he reached the top, “You ok?” I smiled weakly at him. I nodded over to Charlotte and we walked over to meet her before she could see what we had found.
“Charlotte.”
“Hi, Molly, Tam. You talked to David?”
“Yes. He told me what you said about Betsy.”
“She didn’t sound drunk, Molly. She was coherent and alert. She said she dropped Kylie off and the voice on the radio had said 7:24. That’s how she knew what the time was.”
“Ok. Did she say if she had watched Kylie walk into the school?”
“No, I don’t think she did. She would have said if she did.”
“So, basically, between here and that door, Kylie disappeared.”
Everyone nodded. Tom had called to me from down the hill. Charlotte looked over my shoulder in curiosity. She wanted to ask, but I gave her a concerned look. She took a step back. The bell signaling the end of recess startled all of us. Charlotte excused herself.
“I’ve got to get back.”
“Right, thanks Charl. I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
“Yes, please. Good luck.”
I gave her a reluctant smile.
“Molly,” Tom yelled slightly as he ascended the hill. We quickly walked over to meet him at the edge of the black top. “I just got a call from my group and they’re pulling into the town now. I’ll have them canvass the area, follow those prints, and see if we can’t get this guy out of here.” He glanced at me. He lowered his voice as we approached each other. “You knew him?”
“It’s Will.” I wanted to add, ‘my friend’ but didn’t. “What the hell is he doing here?” I said out loud.
“He’s dead Molly. He ain’t doing nothing.”
I gave Tom a fake laugh. It wasn’t funny. I had known Will for all of my life. I remember when he gave me a lollipop when I was seven. He and my dad had been friends. I haven’t even told him that Will was missing. I didn’t want to ruin his holiday. Tam looked down at him with an expression of real sadness. Tam had worked in his store when he was quite young. No one in the town would give him a job. He still believes that it was because he’s Native American. I told him it was just because he was a punk kid. “Will gave me a chance. Turned my life around. Helped me make something of myself... I knew we’d find him eventually. I just hoped he would still be alive. I wanted him to be alive, but I knew he wouldn’t be. I just wish...” Tam said when we learned of his disappearance.
“It’s ok, Tam. We can put this behind us now.” Will’s red checked flannel was what he had seen from the top of the hill. He was half buried in snow with his frozen fingers rapped around a bottle of Jack Daniels. There was no blood on him that we could see. Tom concluded that he must have passed out and froze to death. One mystery solved, sort of, but it didn’t help with our other missing person’s case. Tom and his team scoured the area looking for clues to Kylie’s disappearance. We couldn’t move Will until the area was completely searched, in fear that we would disturb evidence while moving him. It was a cold day. It had started out nice, 15 degrees, but by the afternoon it turned cloudy and the wind seemed to be picking up. None of us were too glad to be out there, but we had to do what we could. Shelby was kind enough to bring us some hot coffee after she prepared the lunches for the kids. It was almost one o’clock in the afternoon. I couldn’t feel my fingertips. Tam thought it would be best to go over to the Brown’s house to tell his wife that we had found Will. Later, I said. I needed him here right now. A small woman, Mrs. Brown had always appeared to be a calm person. Yesterday, after she had attended mass, she approached me while I was heading towards Carole’s Coffee Shop. She told me that she had a dream the other night about Will. She said that he told her to not be sad, to be happy every time she thought of them and their life together. She said that he wanted her to be happy because he loved her. She also said that if I never find Will’s body, she knows he’s in heaven, warm and safe. I wish I could have felt that way.
Colleen, my dispatcher, came with sandwiches and more coffee. I asked her about our ‘boy.’ “Kelly’s fine,” she said. “He pulled over an out of state license running a red light. He’s still beaming with pride.”
“He didn’t put the guy in jail, did he?” I asked with a full mouth of sandwich.
“No, but I’ll bet you that he wanted to.”
Kelly was so young; twenty-three years old, right out of the academy. He wanted to join the army and “see some action” but his mother scolded him and told him that if he moved away, she’d never speak to him again. If my mother had said that, I would have gone anyway. But Kelly is a good boy, a mama’s boy, and a great sport when we make fun of him. Truthfully, he’s like a little brother to me; a little brother I never wanted. Kelly O’Flannon is his full name. His father was one of the first babies to be born in the town. His grandfather was the first Mayor. He was very Scottish, with red hair and blue eyes, passed the genes down to every generation so far. Every Fourth of July parade, Kelly, his brother Sean, his father and his grandfather would walk down the main street through the town center in traditional kilts, playing the bagpipes. When most people complain about the “noise,” I just laugh. I loved watching them, acting so regale, somehow holding tight to an ancient heritage. I admired that.
“Molly, when you’re done there, I need you to take a look at a few things we found.”
I nodded my head ‘yes’ as my mouth was full of turkey on whole wheat. I had to excuse myself, however. Nature called. I went around to the back of the school. I knew this place so well, that I had once found my way to the girl’s bathroom while studying for a geography test, not having to look up to find my way around the hallway corners. I sometimes walk the walls in my sleep, dream about the all those days spent here, all those days not spent here and wondered hoe the hell I survived. I ran my hands under the hot water for a few minutes. I could feel myself thawing a little. I closed my eyes and listened to the water dripping on the tiled floor. I could hear the water flow down the drain, but I could still hear the dripping. I looked at the floor beneath me and saw that I was standing in a pool of red liquid. The stench of old blood burned my eyes. I saw something move in the mirror and turned around. There was nothing. The only sound that ricochets off the walls was my own heart beat. I saw something from the corner of my eye and I turned again to find my self in the mirror and a man behind my reflection. I didn’t blink. He was a man my age, a little taller, dripping wet. His face was smeared with mud and he looked at me with growling blue eyes and a snarling mouth. He wore an overcoat that was dark from being wet. His hair was stringy, hanging in his face. He raised his fist, gripping a large knife with blood dripping from it. His mouth opened to let out a chilling scream as he lunged toward me. I fell sideways and drew my gun, aiming it at the spot I had just occupied, but there was no one there. There was no blood on the floor; there was no water dipping. Everything was clean and dry. I, myself was sweating, shaking, and panting. I could hear the giggles of a couple of girls in the hallway. I scraped myself together and stood again at the sink. The girls walked in as I splashed water on my face. They went on talking and giggling as I finished. They weren’t looking at me; in fact they ignored me altogether. By habit I looked into the mirror but filched as soon as I saw my own reflection. There was just me. No one else. I wiped my face and left.
I walked over to Tom who was crouching by the edge of the pavement and a row of bushes. There was a sheet of plastic laid out with some items placed on it. I glanced down. First there was the shoe, then a piece of tan and maroon plaid material, maybe a part of her dress, a pink knitted mitten, a piece of lined notebook paper, a gum wrapper, a twig with some strands of blonde hair tangled with it, another piece of material- same colour, and a torn and bloody pink Hello Kitty® backpack. That empty pit in my stomach grew a little bigger, and heavier.
“We found a lot of tracks heading southeast down that hill. Large prints and small prints; up until that tree- the oak. Then there are just large prints, deeper, though, and labored, as if he picked something up and carried it.”
“You think it’s a ‘he’?”
“Yeah, size 14 and a half shoe. Same as Detective Jacks there.” Tom pointed to a tall, heavier set man photographing the prints in the snow. “There’s no woman who could fit that shoe.” Or wrestle with a ten-year old girl and win. Tom pulled me over to a smaller tree near where we stood. “This is where the backpack was taken off. There was a bit of blood here, lying lightly on top of the snow.” Tom shook his head. “Poor kid. He, whoever ‘he’ was, hit her against the tree.” He pointed to a spot where there was blood and pieces of hair imbedded in the bark. Detective Jacks came up behind me. He gave a slight startle. I was still a bit jumpy from before, and finding all of these “clues” weren’t helping to settle my nerves. I tried to shake it off. There was no time for melancholy feelings at that moment.
“Where do the tracks lead?” I redirected.
“They head to the river. Down by Stalva’s cottage,” replied Tam as he reached us. “Are we going to search it?”
“As soon as we get a search warrant.”
“It’s a summer cottage. How are we going to get in contact with Stalva?”
“Call Europe, I guess. You get long distance with that?” I pointed to his cell phone.
“No, not out here. Just Local. I’ll call Judge Baker. I’m sure he won’t object.” Tam began to call up the judge when Tom’s walkie-talkie went off. We could hear him mutter into the receiver as he walked away from us for a few steps.
“No need,” Tom called to us.
“What’s the matter?”
“My guys went down to the cottage. There’s no sign of entry. The tracks lead over to the Highway but they stop there. There’s a set of skid marks on the road going east. We found a woman...” He became silent.
“Oh, no.” My heart skipped.
“She had a head trauma. She probably died instantly. There’s no I.D. on her. John Grimily is on his way over. He’ll take her to my office for a thorough investigation. We’ll have access to missing persons there, too. I’m sorry Molly. For now, we have nothing.”
“No, Tom. We have much more than nothing. This has been quite a morning.” The sky turned a strange blueish grey colour. The clouds showed their affection for us and opened a soft snowfall onto our crime scene. Tom turned his face to the sky with a scowl. “More?”
“I guess we’ll have to call it a day.”
“You go ahead. I want to look at something here. I’ll come by tomorrow morning and check on Mr. Brown- and the Jane Doe.”
“Sure, Molly. I’ll wait for John. He shouldn’t be long.”
“Thanks Tom. I’d appreciate it.”
Tam and I headed back up the hill. To be honest, I didn’t think there would be anything unusual to find on Will, but with everything going on, I didn’t want to miss anything, no matter how small and unimportant it may turn out to be. I looked up into the sky and felt the chilly snowflakes fall on my already chilled face. The snowflakes stuck to my eyelashes, keeping their form until I blinked them away. I watched them flitter to the ground, directing my gaze to something I needed to find.